Vans, the manufacturing company of a popular shoe among teenagers, has kicked off its sixth annual Custom Culture competition, marking the fifth straight year Cathedral Catholic High School students will participate in the event.

“This year’s competition begins now,” CCHS art teacher Mrs. Kristen Brandeberry said. “Any students in art classes should see me if they’re interested, and tell their friends about it as well.”

At a time when art and music budgets are being slashed across the U.S., the Vans Custom Culture competition inspires and educates high school students interested in art, challenging student teams to design a pair of shoes based on their high school’s local culture.

This year’s team of artists will be selected Feb. 1, at which point, CCHS will receive four blank white pairs of Vans shoes. If the CCHS team places among the top 50 competitors, it will advance to the next stage of the competition, which is designing skateboards.

From there, a public vote will choose the national winning school. If CCHS wins the grand prize, the school will  earn $50,000 and a trip to New York for the team members.

“All past competitions have been a success,” CCHS Art Department Chairwoman Ms. Silvia Weidmann said. “It’s so great to see what [student teams] come up with and the designs they create.”

Ms. Weidmann has guided CCHS teams, which are consist of 15 to 20 students, in past Vans competitions. In previous years, CCHS art students have spent three months of hard work designing the perfect “SoCal” shoe for the contest, Ms. Weidmann said. Previous years’ teams have placed within the top three California high schools.

This year, Mrs. Brandeberry will be in charge of the submission information and entries for the competition. The goal for this year’s competition is to win.

“It’s really a fun and great competition to enter,” Mrs. Brandeberry said. “Students should look forward to something fun, not an assignment like in an art class.”

Mrs. Brandeberry encourages interested students to visit Assisi Hall 202 before the end of January to propose creative design ideas.

“I’m definitely interested and can’t wait to see what designs we come up with,” Raquel Denos ‘18 said.